Judge Denies Teen Murder Suspect Bail

BARTOW | Cassidy Goodson, the 14-year-old Lakeland girl who is accused of killing her newborn baby, was denied bail by County Judge Susan Barber Flood today. Flood ordered that Goodson remain in custody.

By Jason GearyTHE LEDGER

BARTOW | Cassidy Goodson, the 14-year-old Lakeland girl who is accused of killing her newborn baby, was denied bail by County Judge Susan Barber Flood today. Flood ordered that Goodson remain in custody.

The brief hearing was held at noon. Goodson, wearing a green jail uniform and shackled at her wrists and ankles, was accompanied by her lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Howardene Garrett.

As the charges were read aloud, Garrett put her arm around the girl’s back.

Goodson was arrested last week after deputies say she gave birth on Sept. 19 to a 9.5-pound boy inside a bathroom and then strangled him.

On Thursday, she was indicted on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. Prosecutors decided to seek to have her charged as an adult.

In Florida’s adult criminal justice system, the maximum penalty for first-degree murder is usually a mandatory life sentence or the death penalty.

Goodson’s young age prevents her from facing the death penalty.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that it was unconstitutional for juveniles convicted of murder to receive mandatory life imprisonment without parole. The decision specifically addressed “mandatory” life sentences for juveniles but doesn’t appear to rule out such punishment on a case-by-case basis.

If Goodson had remained charged in the juvenile system, the maximum length of supervision she could be monitored would be until her 22nd birthday.